Railroad-spike.



L. S. JONES.

RAILROAD SPIKE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 10,1914.

1,173,666. Patented Feb. 29, 1916.

7W1. jizyz. 2% v J2 "tihlii TABS LUTHER S.. JONES, OF UTICA, NEW YORK.

RAILROAD-SPIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented net. so, 1916.

Application filed July 10, 1914. Serial No. 850,221.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LUTHER S. JoNns, a citizen of the United States, residing at Utica, in the county of Oneida and State of New York have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Spikes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a railroad spike and the principal object of the invention is to provide improved means for securing the spike in a tie, thus preventing danger of the spike working loose and permitting the rails to spread.

Another object of the invention is to pro vide the spike with an improved type of tie gripping spurs which are so constructed that when the spike is driven into the tie the spurs will be moved toward the shank of the spike and the wood between the spurs and the shank of the spike tightly clamped thus holding the spike in place.

Another object of theinvention is to prevent water from soaking in between the shank of the spike and the wood.

This invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a view showing the improved spike in side elevation; Fig. 2 is a view showing the improved spike in rear elevation; Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the upper portion of the spike with the head of the spike removed.

The spike 10 is provided with a head 11 from which there extends the lip 12 which is intended to engage the base of a railroad rail and hold the rail in place. Spurs 13 extend fromthe blocks 14 which are formed upon the body portion 10 of the spike beneath the head 11. These spurs 18 have their inner faces extending at an outward incline from the shank of the spike and have their outer faces curved as shown in Fig. 2 so that when the spike is driven into a tie the curved outer faces of the spurs will form cam faces to cause the free end portions of the spurs to be bent inwardly toward the body portion of the spike as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, thus causing the wood between the spurs and the shank of the spike to be tightly gripped. This gripping action will cause the spike to be tightly held in. the tie, thus preventing the spike from working loose. These spurs 13 not only act as securing means for the spike but also serve as shields to prevent water from working in between the tie and the shank of the spike. This will prevent the tie from rotting around the spike and permitting the spike to easily work loose. It should also be noted that the spike is enlarged beneath the head, thus causing the head to be held above the tie a suificient amount to permit the head of the spike to be easily engaged by a removing tool.

I have therefore provided a spike which is very simple in construction but which is very effective in operation.

It will also be noted that this spike can be cheaply manufactured and therefore can be placed upon the marxet at a very small cost.

What is claimed is:

A spike comprising a shank, a head for said shank, and locking spurs extending from said shank beneath said head and having their inner faces extending outwardly at an incline to said shank and having their outer faces curved longitudinally to provide cam faces causing the free end portions of the spurs to be bent inwardly when the spike is driven into place.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LUTHER S. JONES.

Witnesses H. S. NioHoLs, Cnas. VVnNznL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

